Russian missiles target Ukrainian energy infrastructure, damaging gas production facility

Russian forces strike civilian enterprise in Kharkiv, injuring at least five people, governor says

An artillery unit from Ukraine's Khartiia Brigade fire a US-made M101A1 Towed Howitzer near a frontline at an undisclosed location in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Photograph: Maria Senovilla/EPA
An artillery unit from Ukraine's Khartiia Brigade fire a US-made M101A1 Towed Howitzer near a frontline at an undisclosed location in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Photograph: Maria Senovilla/EPA

Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure in their latest drone and missile attack, Ukraine’s minister for energy said on Friday.

“Once again, energy and gas infrastructure in various regions of Ukraine has come under massive missile and drone fire,” minister for energy German Galushchenko said in a statement on Facebook.

“Wherever possible, rescuers and power engineers are working to eliminate the consequences. All necessary measures are being taken to stabilise power and gas supplies,” Mr Galushchenko said.

The attack damaged natural gas production facilities of Ukraine's state-run oil and gas firm Naftogaz, the company said in a statement.

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“Production facilities that ensure gas production were damaged. Fortunately, there were no casualties,” Naftogaz said via the Telegram messaging app.

Ternopil governor Viacheslav Nehoda said the attack struck a critical industrial facility in the western region and announced possible limits on gas supplies. Ukraine’s air defence shot down a missile and there were no reported casualties, he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Russian forces struck a civilian enterprise and injured at least five people, according to its governor Oleh Syniehubov.

In the northern region of Chernihiv, an attack damaged one of the production facilities, according to its governor Viacheslav Chaus who did not provide additional details.

The governor of the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk, Svitlana Onyshchuk, said the air defence repelled an attack on infrastructure facilities. She reported no damage or casualties.

Russia, which previously focused its missile and drone attacks on the Ukrainian electricity sector, has in recent months sharply stepped up its attacks on Ukrainian gas storage facilities and production fields. – Reuters